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USS ''Wasp'' (CV-7) was a United States Navy aircraft carrier commissioned in 1940 and lost in action in 1942. She was the eighth ship named , and the sole ship of a class built to use up the remaining tonnage allowed to the U.S. for aircraft carriers under the treaties of the time. As a reduced-size version of the hull, ''Wasp'' was more vulnerable than other United States aircraft carriers available at the opening of hostilities. ''Wasp'' was initially employed in the Atlantic campaign where Axis naval forces were perceived as less capable of inflicting decisive damage. After supporting the occupation of Iceland in 1941, ''Wasp'' joined the British Home Fleet in April 1942 and twice ferried British fighter aircraft to Malta. ''Wasp'' was then transferred to the Pacific in June 1942 to replace losses at the battles of Coral Sea and Midway. After supporting the invasion of Guadalcanal, ''Wasp'' was sunk by the Japanese submarine on 15 September 1942. ==Design== ''Wasp'' was a product of the Washington Naval Treaty. After the construction of the carriers and , the U.S. was still permitted to build a carrier. The Navy sought to squeeze a large air group onto a ship with nearly 25% less displacement than the ''Yorktown''-class. In order to save weight and space, ''Wasp'' was constructed with low-power machinery (compare ''Wasp''s machinery with ''Yorktown''s , 's , and the 's ). Additionally, ''Wasp'' was launched with almost no armor, modest speed and, more significantly, no protection from torpedoes. Absence of side protection of the boilers and internal aviation fuel stores "doomed her to a blazing demise". These were inherent design flaws that were recognized when constructed but could not be remedied within the allowed tonnage. These flaws, combined with a relative lack of damage control experience in the early days of the war, were to prove fatal. ''Wasp'' was the first carrier fitted with a deck edge elevator. The elevator consisted of a platform for the front wheels and an outrigger for the tail wheel. The two arms on the sides moved the platform in a half-circle up and down between the flight deck and the hangar deck. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Wasp (CV-7)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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